A Year of days
by FreeWrite
Summary: They all have days that are important to them but how do you celebrate them in a different Galaxy?
1. 26th January

**Title: **A Year of Days

**Author:** FreeWrite

**Disclaimer:** Any recognisable characters belong to someone who isn't me. I am not making any money off this story and am merely borrowing them for the time being. I promise to put them back where I got them from and not do to much damaged in the mean time.

**Summary:** They all have their own celebrations and days that mean more to them than the other personnel.

**Authors Notes:** I'm not entirely sure where the idea for this fic came from but I guess I was bitten by the plot bunny and it just wouldn't let go.

Also my Beta is MIA at the moment and I'm looking for someone to substitiute for the time being. This chapter hasn't been checked so if anyone is willing to step in please email me at None that I can think of, except maybe the bit where John's been promoted so all of season 1.

**Chapter 1: **Australia Day

Dr Elizabeth Weir sat inside her office, mid-morning sunlight streaming through the windows. It was a beautiful day outside and she was almost tempted to ignore all the reports sitting on her desk, go down to one of the pier and attempt to get something that resembled a tan. It was this planets version of mid-spring and some of the other expedition members had taken advantage of the warm weather and spending the day by the water.

A loud knock on the office doorframe brought her out of the report induced stupor, looking up Elizabeth saw Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard standing there in his standard issue BDU's, backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Busy?"

"Always" she sat up a little straighter, stretching her back and ran her hands through her hair "What's up?"

"A couple of us…" he didn't get to finish his sentence as a cry of.

"BOMBS AWAY" floated up through the open balcony doors followed by a loud splash.

John and Elizabeth looked at each other slightly bewildered before walking out onto the balcony to look down at one of the piers.

Gathered down there was a group of personnel having what looked like a picnic with one of the members trading water about 15 feet out. They watched as one of the others stood and stripped down to her swimmers and took a run off the end of the pier and dive-bombed into the water. A few seconds later she surfaced, took a deep breath and yelled.

"Bugger that's frigid, get your arses in here I'm not freezing my tits off by myself"

Up on the balcony Elizabeth turned to John with a quizzical look on her face.

"What's the date back on earth?"

"January 26th… I think. Why?"

Elizabeth snickered to herself in realisation. "If you look I think that you will find just about every Australian in the city down on that pier, it's Australia day. Doctor Riordon was telling me about it the other day, it's their biggest national holiday, half the country get drunk and sunburnt wile the other half protests celebrating a day that marks the subjugation and killing of an entire people. That's the way he explained it to me anyway."

The two of them watched as more of the group made their way into the water. Soon three more people came down to the end of the pier carrying something big and bulky.

"Is that…?"

"A barbecue… yep"

John shook his head again "where the hell did they get a barbecue?"

Glancing at him sideways Elizabeth raised her eyebrows slightly "Dr Mitchell is an engineer, it wouldn't surprise me if she built it. Remember these people are the best of the best She probably built it in her sleep"

The two of the watched as the newcomers finished setting up and finally joined everyone else in the water. The group play fought and raced each other around oblivious of the two people up on the balcony.

After a tie a thought occurred to John "Hey we still don't know everything that lives in the sea. Aren't they worried about something getting them?"

"How much do you know about Australian wildlife?" Elizabeth asked, but the look on his face told her that he didn't know much.

"Australia is home to some of earths deadliest spiders snakes and marine life. I doubt they're scared of much that could be in there."

Crinkling his forehead John nodded in acceptance of her explanation before another thought occurred to him.

"You wouldn't let me throw a party for 4th of July last year, how come they get a barbecue?"

Rolling her eyes Elizabeth let him stew for a moment before answering.

"What I said was that nothing official would be organised however if any of the American staff wanted the day off duty to let me know and I would try and roster everyone off. You didn't let me know you wanted the day off, so you were put on the roster"

"Oh"

Silence once more descended over the pair as they watched the merriment below them.

Later that day just as the sun was setting Elizabeth once more sat alone in her office still working on reports. The group still partying below on the pier. A lone voice floated up on the wind and through the open doors.

I've been to cities that never close down

From New York to Rio and Old London Town

No matter how far or how wide I rome

I still call Australia Home.

**AN:** I can say what I like about Australia day, I'm Australian so therefore can insult us to my hearts content g 


	2. 1st May

**Chapter 2: **Czech Republic. Radek Zelenka

May 1st

Radek Zelenka stood in his private quarters staring out the window. The sun was about to set but in his mind he was in a far away place.

On this day many years before he had stood in Petrˇín park. He had been much younger then and in his mind the most beautiful woman in the world stood with him, her smaller hand wrapped in his. Together they had laid out their flowers and then Radek had leaned over and gently kissed her.

Wrapping his arms around her he had whispered the Poem in her ear and promised that they would do this together every year, but the next year she had been gone. A drunk driver had taken her from him and he had never returned to the park. Radek's life had become science there was nothing else for him after he lost her. Her loss was the reason he had agreed to come on the Atlantis expedition, if she had been alive he never would have joined, but she was gone and he had no-one back on Earth to stay for or to go home to. The people here had become his family and here he would remain.

Turning around he walked over to a corner in his quarters where on a small table her photo sat, forever smiling and young. The photo was yellowed around the edges and starting to wear thin but her beauty had never diminished.

Kneeling he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and Radek lit the candles on either side of the photograph while whispering the very same poem to himself.

"Byl pozdní vecˇer - první máj -

vecˇerní máj - byl lásky cˇas.

Hrdlicˇcˇin zval ku lásce hlas,

kde borovy´ zaváneˇl háj.

O lásce sˇeptal tichy´ mech;

kveˇtoucí strom lhal lásky zˇel,

svou lásku slavík ru˚zˇi peˇl,

ru˚zˇinu jevil vonny´ vzdech.

Jezero hladké v krˇovích stinny´ch

zvucˇelo temneˇ tajny´ bol,

brˇeh objímal je kol a kol;

a slunce jasná sveˇtu˚ jiny´ch

bloudila blankytny´mi pásky,

planoucí tam co slzy lásky."

A lone tear escaped his eye as on the day when love was most celebrated her remembered his lost love.

**AN:** This is a real day Celebrated in the Czech Republic, and the Poem is by Karel Hynek Mácha. Below is the English translation.

Late evening, on the first of May -

The twilit May - the time of love.

Meltingly called the turtle-dove,

Where rich and sweet pinewoods lay.

Whispered of love the mosses trail,

The flowering tree as sweetly lied,

The rose's fragrant sigh replied

To love-songs of the nightingale.

In shadowy woods the burnished lake

Darkly complained a secret pain,

By circling shores embraced again;

And heaven's clear sun leaned down to take

A road astray in azure deeps,

Like burning tears the lover weeps.


End file.
